To maintain their optimum usefulness, all ice rinks require maintenance. Ice skates, by their very nature, are destructive to ice rinks as skates will score, scratch, and cut the ice on an ice rink. In addition to this, continued use of ice skates on an ice rink will cause the accumulation of slush, snow and dirt. It is, therefore, necessary to quickly and effectively resurface the used ice using minimal energy and resources. During rink maintenance, an ice resurfacer shaves a relatively thin layer ( 1/16-inch to ⅛-inch) of ice from the ice surface. The resulting ice shavings and snow is then collected and directed through a series of horizontal and vertical augers into the snow dump tank receptacle. As this is occurring, the ice resurfacer deposits on the surface of the rink a layer of fresh hot water which fills cracks and imperfections on the ice surface. Currently, after the ice resurfacer finishes its operation, the contents of the snow dump tank is disposed of inside or outside of the rink (for example, the content of the snow dump tank is often dumped outside of the ice rink building).
During the above operation cycle, a substantial amount of energy, labour, material and fresh water are used. For example, every time an average sized ice rink is flooded, it requires the use of approximately 200 to 700 liters of fresh water heated to a temperature of between 50 and 60 degrees Celsius. This large quantity of water must first be heated in a large commercial external hot water tank and, once heated, the water is then sent to another large commercial hot water holding tank. The heated water is stored so that it remains heated between resurfacing periods. The ice resurfacing and cleaning machine is manually filled with the hot water by a worker using a hose before ice resurfacing. The process thus requires material, labor, fresh water and additional energy before each ice resurfacing cycle.
Zamboni® and Olympia® are well-known brands of ice resurfacers.
Various machines have been proposed which use different heat sources to melt snow and ice shavings for water re-use. Examples of these machines include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,380,355, 5,536,411, and 3,705,746. Different approaches include utilizing heat from the burning of a combustible fuel material, recovering heat from a refrigeration unit, or rejecting heat from the machine drive engine. While some of these approaches have advantages, most have not been adopted for use by ice resurfacers. As well, none of these approaches have been truly economical as they would require redesign and replacement of current ice resurfacers.
Based on the above, there is therefore a need for methods, systems, or devices which would mitigate if not overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.